Franks had 'big grin on my face' on TD
Published: 10/28/2009 2:50 PM
Last Modified: 10/28/2009 2:50 PM
NORMAN — Dominique Franks is willing to give Brian Jackson lessons.
Last week at Kansas, Franks returned his interception for an 85-yard touchdown. It was a 35-13 victory, so as important as Franks' score was in the course of the game, it turned out to be just cushion.
The week before, Jackson had the same chance. Late in the fourth quarter, he intercepted Colt McCoy, but then ran straight up the field and was quickly tackled by McCoy. A Jackson TD would have likely won the game in OU's 16-13 loss.
For the record, Jackson and Franks are good friends, and so this part of the story is all in good fun.
"He says I get all the lucky picks on all the screens," Franks said this week, "I'll be like, 'Man, you've got to have a little bit of speed. Be able to outrun the quarterback.' Something like that.
"We joke a lot, but it's all in good fun."
See? Told you.
Anyway, Franks' interception return may give him a needed confidence boost. Franks was virtually unbeatable last year in his first season as a starter, but this season, he's had some flaws — most notably a deep pass completion against BYU and a bust against Miami. The BYU play set up a touchdown; the Miami play was a touchdown.
Franks still relives the Miami play. Hurricanes receiver Travis Benjamin ran a "fork" route, meaning he could choose either to run to the left (to the goalpost) or the right (to the corner flag). With Franks locked up in man-to-man coverage, Benjamin made sure Franks saw his eyes. He looked hard to the corner, then cut to the post. Franks saw Benjamin looking at the corner and took the fake. Benjamin was wide open for the TD.
"It was just me having a mental mistake," Franks said. "It wasn't him being a better player. That was all on me. That was easy to correct. I let my eyes get somewhere else and tried to make another play instead of taking care of my man. So I just sat back and said, 'Hey, just make the plays you're supposed to make. Make sure you cover your guy and not let your eyes wander where they're not supposed to be.' "
Franks hasn't given up much since. His score against Kansas was his third career defensive TD, and it was a case of Franks reading QB Todd Reesing's throw. In a three-receiver set, Reesing threw a short swing pass to the middle receiver while the outside man ran a post in front of Franks. Reesing thought Franks would follow the post route, and he even pump-faked there first. But Franks read it all the way.
Franks credited "great pressure from the d-line, getting in his face, getting in the passing lanes. He wanted the slant. He pumped the slant. He was getting pressure, so he just threw it real quick to the flat and I happened to be standing right there. My eyes got big once I seen the ball coming.
"It felt great. As I was running down the sideline, I just looked up at the JumboTron and made sure there wasn't nobody chasing me. I didn't want to get tackled from behind on national TV. It felt good. I had a big grin on my face while I was running to the end zone."
— John E. Hoover
Written by
John E. Hoover
Sports Columnist
